Strange and unconventional instruments

[Kallistero]

This thread reminded me of the 2015 Guthman musical instrument invention competition from Georgia Tech. The prototype instruments from there are wild & wacky! Check them out 

The Nomis from John Sparks is probably my favorite out of the competition    It plays with shapes, colors, and motion while staying capable of chords & melodies with a queue system for adding & editing timbres mid-performance. I could see music from this instrument being used on a MelonLand site, and it'd feel right at home!

The Voice-controlled Guitar (VCG) from Greg Hendler, Mark Crowley, and Raja Raman really plays with what it means to be a guitar! I've actually been to shows with Greg before, and he does shred on the more standard electric guitar. The VCG is an instrument made with a skilled guitarist onboard, to get an experimental sound out of an almost familiar way of playing.

The GePS from Cedric Spindler & Frederic Robinson is something I see so much potential in as a way of creating a full-body theremin. It uses glove-tracking technology, usually used for VR, to control the sound from the device. It may have still been a work in progress at the time of its entry, but I think there's a lot that can be made off of this concept, both in music performance and in VR audio design!

The Turner Winch from David Turner Matthews is a more analog instrument that encourages real-time re-tuning and is relatively accessible to actually play yourself 

The D-Box from Andrew McPherson & Victor Zappi is another instrument that plays with the idea of modularity in sound! The performance here doesn't capture it, but the magic of this device is that it can be rewired to create whole other sound experiences. I've spoken with Victor, and before this, he was making theremins! He's a habitual tinkerer, and this instrument is a peek at his passion for assembling & inventing new creative devices 

There were several more entries in this competition, and you can see the top 10 by going to Georgia Tech's "Music Reinvented" article